January 20 2012

Belville Looking To Expand–
Office Space, That Is!

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Jan 20 2012

Newly Elected Belville Commissioner Joe Breault Hits the Ground Running

Breault ran a write-in campaign in the 2007 election for Belville Commissioner and lost by one vote to Sharon Collins. Since that loss, Breault has canvassed Belville residents about their concerns about the town. He will now continue canvassing his constituents now that he was been elected Belville commissioner.
One of the issues Breault asked residents about was a possible merger with the Town of Leland. According to his campaign summary obtained by the Local News Review on December 19, 2011, more than 82% of the residents of Belville were against any type of merger with Leland.
The main reason cited for not merging with Leland was tax rates. Belville’s tax rate currently is $6.85 per $100 of evaluation, while Leland’s tax rate is $15.15 for a $100 of evaluation. It was also revealed that most residents like the small-town atmosphere of Belville and wish to retain that feeling. They also expressed concern about their livelihoods, well-being of their families, and, most of all, Belville residents voiced a desire “to be left alone.”
While downtown redevelopment is of interest to residents, they do not want any improvements that may result in a tax increase. Breault also noted that concerns voiced most often by Belville residence were:
current town hall rental cost and plans for replacement,
status of their town redevelopment and the contract,
senior citizens/activity/community center,
motorists speeding in River Ridge and Old Town North,
curbside recycling,
drainage issues in Birch Creek and Woodridge),
establishing a police presence.
In adhering to his campaign promise, Breault will be going door to door on the second Sunday each month between the hours of 2 – 4 PM to seek out opinions and concerns of Belville residents. Here is his canvas schedule for 2012: January, Birch Creek and Chapel Loop; February, Stoney Creek; March, Glendale; April, Kingsworth Drive; May, Windsor Dr.; June, Pine Branches; July, Winding Branches; August, Maple Branches; September, Oak Branches; October, Old Town North; November, Highland Shores; December, Old Town South and Rice Hope. Breault will send out a reminder (at his own expense) one week prior to each scheduled canvas.

by Mike Leggett

mike@theLNR.com

Dec 2011

Newly Elected Belville Officials Sworn In during December 19 Ceremony

By Mike Leggett  mike@theLNR.com

The Town of Belville at its December 19 meeting swore in newly elected and re-elected town officials, and bid farewell to outgoing commissioner Sharon Collins. Her comments were focused on the eight principles of what makes a “good government body”.

Jack Batson was sworn in for his second, two-year term was Mayor.  Joe Breault was sworn in for his first four-year term as commissioner. Chuck Bost was also sworn in for his first full tern as commissioner after being appointed to fill Jack Batson’s unexpired term two years ago. Chief Superior Court Judge Ola Lewis administered the oaths of office.

The first action of the new board was to elect a Mayor Pro Tem. Commissioner Mike Allen was nominated and re-elected to fill that position by unanimous vote of the board. Commissioner Chuck Bost was appointed as Bellville’s representative to the Cape Fear Council of Governments.

Batson commented during the ceremony that when Mike Allen, Donna Schardien, and himself were campaigning two years ago, one of the promises they made was to cut taxes by 25 percent. “As property values went down and other municipalities were toying with raising taxes, we kept our promise and cut taxes by 25% without hurting our fund balance,” Batson noted. “And I think that’s something we should all be proud of, because we all came through it.” Batson also noted that the town was able to save around $1 million on the relocation of Blackwell road by having the North Carolina Department of Transportation pick up the cost of relocating the road, and the traffic lights as well.

Batson continued: “We were also able to eliminate some full-time positions by changing our form of government, and hiring part-time personnel to fill those needs. We also have developed a good relationship with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, which has helped us pave or repave 60% of the roads in our town. These roads have been replaced or repaired at no additional cost to the town. We were also able to fix the flooding problems that we’ve had their and our town, the worst being at Albemarle and Old Town Wynd by having a 925 foot long by 8 foot deep ditch installed, again at no cost to the town.

“One of the things I am most proud of that the board has accomplished is making our boards more representative of the residents in the town of Belville. This is just a small list of things we’ve able to get done in the past two years. We have a list of things to accomplish in the next two years, and one of the largest things we need to work on is finding a new location for town hall. Currently we are paying $6000 per month for these small offices we are in now. We are entering in to the last six months of a five-year contract and we’re actively working on coming up with a new location.

“But the one thing that really hangs over the head of this town is the development of the downtown area. We have a developer agreement for 20 years. The developer has submitted no surety bonds and requires the town to pay for all infrastructure improvements, like water, sewer, gazebos and boat docks, and then turn it all over to the developer. All of this was to be paid by the town through incremental financing, which doesn’t even exist anymore. I have had numerous people/developers come to me and won’t take a tour of Belville and talk about what they could do in the downtown area. But when they look at the deal we have with the developer, they say we can’t do anything here and walk away. So this development deal is something we need to work on so our town can move forward.”

Batson also noted other ongoing initiatives, like cooperation with other municipalities on zoning and planning, and at some point down the road, looking at a possible blending with the town of Leland.

July 8 2011

BC Emergency Services Head Talks Hurricane Preparedness with Belville Commissioners

By Jane Crowder  jane@theLNR.com

Anthony Marsano, director of Brunswick County emergency services, spoke to the Belville Board of Commissioners at the regular June 27 meeting. Marsano spoke on hurricane preparedness and also gave the group an update on the new VIPER Radio System.  According to Marsano, the new, state-wide radio system greatly improves communication between the different emergency departments within Brunswick County, i.e. EMS, fire, police, highway patrol, Sheriff and others.  Marsano explained that the system has been much needed in the county and the county’s public safety departments are excited to have access to it.

In other business, Commissioner Sharon Collins moved to adopt ordinance 2011-04, supporting the budget for fiscal 2012 in the amount of $557,468. It passed with a unanimous vote.

Mayor Jack Batson discussed the town’s recycling bins.  Town officials have received notice that if the bins are contaminated, it causes the whole container to be rejected and adds about $200 for handling.  Mayor Batson showed pictures of items that had been retrieved from the bins that were not acceptable.  Mayor Batson and town employees have inspected the bins on several occasions.  If contamination of the bins cannot be controlled, they can be removed.  The county has asked the town for help in the recycling.  Batson went on to say that the town will be cracking down on illegal dumping and will be notifying potential violators.

Commissioner Collins inquired about an ongoing situation within the town concerning citation of the truck owned by Sydney Boney. According to Batson, the County Health Department has imposed numerous health code violations, so the town is letting the Health Department handle it first, and then the town will get involved. In the final business item for the meeting, Batson recognized Athina Williams, Town Administrator, was recognized for five years of service with the Town of Belville.

Ms Williams with Mayor Batson

Congratulation to Ms. Athina Williams, Finance Office and Town Administrator on completing five years of employment with the Town of Belville.

Ms. Williams began working for the town on July 5^th of 2006 as the Tax Collector and has since held the titles of Town Clerk, Zoning Code Administrator, Subdivision Administrator, Finance Officer and Town Administrator.  She is a native of Charleston, South Carolina and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics with a minor in Banking and Finance from Fayetteville State University.

Again, congratulations Ms. Athina Williams

Belville Residents Applaud Change Back to Mayor-Council Form of Government

The Belville Town Council voted unanimously at its August 23 meeting to amend the town’s charter, reinstating a mayor-and-council form of government, a change from to the town’s current council-and-manager form. In 2007, a previous council voted to hire a manger, which prompted the change in governmental types.

Athina Williams was appointed interim town manager earlier this year. After the council voted to return to a mayor-and-council form of government, Williams accepted the board’s appointment of the newly created post of town administrator.

In a mayor-and-council government, the mayor and the town council make collaborative decisions about services, revenues, and expenditures. Management of all town personnel also comes under the jurisdiction of the board with this form of government. A town board typically hires an administrator when daily operations become too complex for elected officials to oversee. Along Williams’ appointment, Chris Sammons was sworn in as finance director/budget officer, and James Eldridge was sworn in as town attorney.

Mayor Batson noted that, under the mayor-council form of government, he loses his vote on any issue unless it becomes necessary to break a tie vote. “I believe this form of government is the best for the town, in that there will be more cooperation from all entities,” Batson said. He also added the town is blessed to have both Williams and Sammons as employees.

In other business, the Belville Town Council approved an amendment to article 12 of the town’s sign regulations. Window signs are now exempt from regulations specifying size limitations. It was noted that during these economic times, the exemption would help bolster business in the town. Current rules state that window signs are not regulated unless the size is over 25% of the size of the window. If such signs were more than 25% of the size of the window, then they would be considered a sign and can be permitted as wall signs. Davis Fennell, reporting on window sign regulations from adjacent towns, said, “These regulations are hard to enforce because most of these signs are temporary in nature and can change daily.”

The council also approved the use of SAFEbuilt Carolinas for doing Belville’s building inspections. Under the agreement, 20% of all inspection fees will come back to Belville. Mayor Batson also noted fire inspections could be conducted by Chief Grimes of the Leland Volunteer Fire/Rescue Department. The new agreement cancels the contract the town has with Brunswick County to issue permits. “It will allow residents who need a permit to get it in Belville, rather than going all the way down to Bolivia for their permit,” Jason Walker, former director of planning and inspections for Holden Beach, heads the SAFEbuilt Carolinas office. According to SAFEbuilt’s web site, the company dates back to 1992, and currently provides full-service building department programs, building code plan reviews, complete project support, and building code inspections for towns, cities, counties, and other public agencies across the U.S. SAFEbuilt is a national company and only contracts with public entities. Walker himself will perform the inspections and provide permitting and other services on an on-call basis, to start. The Town of Navassa has already approved a contract with this company for its inspections.